A SECOND World War mine was exploded off the coast at Whitstable early this morning.

The mine, a German parachute mine which would have been dropped as part of the German campaign on the British seas, was trawled up by a boat just before midnight.

The crew of the boat, Sarah Jayne, lowered their nets and marked the site as well as calling the Thames Coastguard.

The Navy Explosives and Ordnance Team from Portsmouth were alerted, and they dragged the mine out to two miles away from the shore where a controlled explosion was carried out at 7.30am.

A one-mile exclusion zone was put in place as a precaution, and the Coastguard confirmed that the mine was live, but is now safe.